Apparatus for peeling eggs

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for peeling eggs is disclosed, wherein the apparatus comprises a generally cylindrical chamber and means for orbiting the chamber in such a way that outside surfaces of the eggs are flexed very rapidly so as to separate the egg shells and their membranes from the cooked egg whites.

United States Patent 11 1 Briggs Nov. 27, 1973 [54] APPARATUS FORPEELING EGGS 3,552,458 1 1971 Whitman 146/2 E 2,535,980 12 1950 Yeamans146/2 E [76] Inventor. Leslie Driggs, West Sand Lake 2,548,812 4/195]Patterson n 46/2 C Extension, West Sand Lake, 2,713,381 7 1955 Shidelerl46/2 E 12196 5 3,216,828 11/1965 Koonz et al. 146 2 E 22 Filed: May 24,1972 [2]] APPL No; 256,515 Primary Examiner-Willie G. AbercrombieReferences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1893 Power 146/2 R XAttorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman 57 ABSTRACT Apparatus for peeling eggsis disclosed, wherein the apparatuscomprises a generally cylindricalchamber and means for orbiting the chamber in such a way that outsidesurfaces of the eggs are flexed very rapidly so as to separate the eggshells and their membranes from the cooked egg whites.

11 Claims, 2 Drawing figures PAIENIEmmvm I975 SHEET 10F 2 APPARATUS FORPEELING EGGS This is a division, of application Ser. No. 54,969 filedJuly 15, 1970.

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION This invention relates toimproved apparatus for treating poultry eggs so that such eggs can bemade more readily available for consumer usage. More specifically, theinvention provides for novel cooking and peeling of eggs thatsubstantially eliminate hand labor and other problems that have beenassociated with egg handling and storage in the past. In thisspecification and it claims, reference will be made to hard cooked eggsand peeling of eggs. The phrase hard cooked is intended to describe whatis more commonly known as a hard-boiled condition for an egg wherein theyoke and white are firm and non-liquid. The term peeling is intended todescribe the removal of the shell from the In recent years there hasbeen an overall decline in per capita egg consumption in the UnitedStates. In addition, the use of hard cooked eggs has become lessattractive to the food service industries, mainly because of problemsinvolved in handling, storing, and preparing such eggs for ultimate useand consumption. At the present time, hard cooked eggs are still peeledby hand, and this represents an inefficient and inconvenient treatmentrequirement that discourages the use of such eggs in large quantities byfood service industries. Also, eggs themselves have changed through theyears as geneticists have bred poultry for improved egg quality andhigher egg production. For example, it is known that eggs of higherquality have a lower pH for their whites and shell membranes than doeggs of lower quality and that such higher quality eggs are moredifficult to peel. Conversely, it has been recognized that lower qualityeggs have a higher pH and are easier to peel. Certain prior art effortsin the art of egg peeling have concentrated on adjusting the pH of eggsto facilitate peeling, but these efforts have not fully satisfied theneed for hard cooked eggs that are easy to peel. In addition, breedingpractices have inadvertently resulted in a change in chaleza structuresin eggs. It has been found that the chaleza structures at the largerends of eggs are now considerably smaller or weaker than those of eggsfrom earlier strains of birds, and this weakness permits greater yolkmovement in certain directions within the shell. As a result, thepresent day practice of cooking eggs while they are lying on theirsides, or positioned with their small ends directed upwardly, produces ahigh percentage of eggs which have yolks that are considerably offcenter andeven almost protruding through the white of the egg, therebymaking for even more difficult peeling and very poor appearance of thefinal product.

The present invention is directed to improvements in apparatus fortreating eggs so that eggs can be hard cooked, peeled, and stored moreeconomically and more efficiently. Various parts of the overallinvention will be discussed under separate headings below:

a. Cooking:

It has been discovered that eggs can be more readily peeled if the yolkposition within a cooked egg is away from the eggshell so that a layerof egg white completely surrounds the yolk. This positioning of the yolkis essential because the white part of the egg can be more readilyseparated from the membrane which lines the egg shell, without damagingthe egg, when the yolk is surrounded by a more or less constantthickness of egg white. In the peeling of an egg, both the shell and itsattached membrane are removed from the egg white. Along with thisdiscovery, it has been found the yolk position in a cooked egg can becontrolled by cooking the eggs with their smaller ends directeddownwardly. This orientation of the eggs during the cooking processresults in a better centralized positioning of the yolks in the eggs. Asmentioned above, the chaleza structures at larger ends of eggs arebecoming smaller and weaker, and it has been found that if such eggs arepositioned, in accordance with past practices, with their larger endspointed downwardly, the yolks have a tendency to float up through theegg whites until they are considerably off center. On the other hand, apositioning of an eg with its smaller end down results in a holding ofthe yolk in place by the stronger chaleza at the smaller end of the egg.

In the practice of the present invention, eggs are loaded onto trayswith their small ends directed downwardly, and the trays are moved intoa cooking zone where the eggs are hard cooked by hot water, steam,super-heated steam, or other heated fluid. Cooking is continued untilthe eggs are hard cooked according to known and accepted standards.

b. Peeling:

As mentioned above, it has been known that the pH of an egg is animportant factor with respect to the ease with which the egg can bepeeled. Aged eggs have a higher pH and are easier to peel even thoughthey are of a lower quality than fresh eggs having lower pH values. U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,828 recognizes the advantages of artificial aging toraise the pH of an egg. This is done with pre-conditioning steps whichinvolve the use of chemical absorbers or artificial heating to about F.

In contrast to such prior art attempts, the present invention providesapparatus for peeling eggs which are fresh and of a low pH. Such eggsmay be subjected to pre-conditioning treatments if desired, but suchtreat? ments are not necessary when the invention is followed. Inaccordance with this invention, eggs can be peeled very rapidly (forexample in about 3 seconds per egg) by a mechanical device which doesnot require any band operations to effect peeling. This is done bysubjecting each egg to surface cooling and then to a rapid flexing ofthe egg shell, its membrane, and the egg white. It has been discoveredthat pre-conditioning of an egg by cooling before peeling is of greaterimportance to ease of peeling than is an adjustment of pH. Also, it hasbeen found that mechanical flexing pf all surfaces of an egg results ina quick separation of a shell from the egg. Flexing of the surfaces ofeach egg is accomplished by subjecting the egg to mechanical forcesresulting from rapidmovements of the egg against the inside walls of achamber while the chamber is being orbited about an axis without beingrotated within its own axis. This results in a flexing which takes placeso rapidly that the bond between the egg shell membrane and the eggwhite is quickly broken without disrupting the integrity of the eggwhite and its contained yolk.

A type of limited flexing of a portion of an egg shell is described inU. S. Pat. No. 2,713,881, but this type of flexing or cracking of ashell is not comparable to the flexing operation of the presentinvention. Basically,

the procedure outlined in US. Pat. No. 2,713,881 is one of cracking acenter section of a shell so that it can attach itself to an adhesivetape and be removed from the egg white, thereby leaving two cup-likeportions behind for easy removal. In contrast, the procedure of thepresent invention is completely mechanical in nature and operates tobreak a bond within the egg itself so that the shell is virtually thrownoff from the egg white by the rapid moving and flexing of the entireegg. Apparatus for carrying out the peeling operation includes a chamberwhich is cylindrical in form and which has an open top into which an eggcan be placed for peeling. The chamber is tilted and orbited about anaxis in such a way that the egg is subjected to violent and rapidchanges in movement. The chamber is mounted within a frame which can bepivoted to a discharge position for discharging the peeled egg and itsseparated shell at the end of each peeling cycle. The apparatus isprovided with a mechanism for allowing the chamber to be pivoteddownwardly and cleaned after each egg is peeled.

c. Subsequent Treatments, Including Packaging:

Since the processing steps described above can be carried out as partsof a continuous process, a final treatment step can involve a packagingof the egg product which has been obtained by cooking and peeling theeggs. The packaging step utilizes known techniques for placing the hardcooked and peeled eggs in individual packages for storing and ultimatesale and use. An example of such a known technique involves a placing ofa number of eggs in a plastic bag which can be evacuated of air and heatsealed. If desired, an inert gas can be used to replace the air in eachpackage. A further part of the present invention provides for are-heating of the eggs after they are peeled so as to pasteurize themand to prepare them for packaging and a long shelf life. This re-heatingstep may take place either prior to packaging or after the eggs areplaced in a package. Re-heating is carried out at about 180 F to providegood bacteriological control of the egg product. A preferred re-heatingtreatment involves the use of radio frequency energy (50 to 100megahertz) to create sufiicient heat to effect pasteurization.Preferably this is done after packaging so that there will be no furthercontamination of the egg product after it is pasteurized. Radiofrequency pasteurization also ofiers an additional benefit of reducingthe green coloration of the white portion of a hard cooked eg (ascommonly seen around the yolk area of the egg). The mechanism by whichthe coloration is reduced or removed by radio frequency heating is notknown but this highly desirable result has been observed by testing.Also, radio frequency heating is desirable because the white portion ofthe egg is more sensitive to this type of reheating than is the eggyolk.

Thus, in accordance with a preferred processing of eggs by the presentinvention, the centers of the eggs are maintained at as high atemperature as possible during peeling so that re-heating can beaccomplished very quickly and with lower amounts of energy. It ispreferred that surfaces of the cooked eggs be flash cooled to arelatively low temperature prior to peeling so that peeling will befacilitated by the reduction in temperature of surface areas of thecooked eggs. Flash cooling, as by immersion in cold water, leaves theyolk centers of the eggs at relatively higher temperatures, and thisallows a rapid re-heating and pasteurization after peelmg.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent in the more detailed discussion which follows. In thatdiscussion reference will be made to the accompanying drawings asbriefly described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of aform of apparatus of this invention for mechanically peeling hard cookedeggs; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the same apparatus as is shown inFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Referring to the drawings, theinvention is illustrated in terms of apparatus for treating poultryeggs. The following discussion will make reference to specific apparatussuitable for practicing the invention, but it is to be understood thatthe specific examples which are given represent only several of manypossible ways in which the basic principles of the invention may bepracticed.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment of apparatus useful for rapidlypeeling eggs in accordance with the present invention. The type ofapparatus which is illustrated may be used in batch processing of eggsat points of consumption. When used as part of a continuous processingsystem for eggs, a loading device may be provided in combination withthe peeler apparatus for loading eggs from a conveyor into one or morepeeling devices stationed downstream from the cooking and coolingchambers discussed above. The loading device may be of any knownconstruction and of a type for depositing one eg at a time into the typeof peeler apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Loading is synchronized withthe peeling cycle so that a new egg is loaded into the apparatus uponcompletion of each peeling cycle.

The peeling apparatus includes a chamber means 20 which is sufficientlylarge to receive an egg and to allow rapid movements and changes indirection of the egg within the chamber. In the illustrated embodiment,the chamber means 20 is generally cylindrical in form with an open top,a side wall 22, and a closed bottom 24. The chamber means may be formedfrom stainless steel having a sand blasted interior surface. The type ofcylindrical chamber means illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 can beapproximately 5 inches in diameter and 3% inches high when designed forreceiving and peeling one egg at a time. The cylindrical chamber means20 is supported on a rod 26 which extends through a central axis of thecylindrical chamber means. The rod 26 extends through the bottom 24 ofthe chamber means and is secured to two support arms 28 which areprovided with known bearing structures at their points of securement tothe rod 26. The bearing structures are designed to allow rotation of therod 26 relative to the support arms 28. Spacer sleeves 30 and 32 arefitted over the smaller diameter rod 26 to fix the position of thechamber means 20 relative to the support arms 28. The rod 26 is providedwith a threaded bottom end and a nut for assembling all parts together.The upper end of the rod 26 is secured with a flexible coupling 34 to across member 36 of a frame means 38 within which the chamber means ismounted. The flexible coupling means may comprise a pair of rubbersleeves joined together in the manner shown so that the upper end of therod 26 can move by a limited amount relative to the frame means 38. Asshown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the rod 26 is fixed by the supportarms 28 so as to place the chamber means 20 in an offset positionrelative to a vertically disposed drive shaft means 40. The support arms28 pass through openings in the drive shaft means 48 and are secured tothe drive shaft means by the use of threaded lock nuts 42.

The vertical drive shaft means 40 is rotated. about its vertical axis bya drive train (see FIG. 1) which includes a motor means 44, drive beltmeans 46, transmission means 48 for changing the direction of rotation,and a further drive belt means 50 which is connected to a drive pulleyfixed to a lower extended end of the vertical drive shaft means 40. Anadditional drive belt 511 may be provided to drive an adjacent peelingunit, if desired. The vertical drive shaft means 40 is supported forrotation but prevented from moving axially relative to a base portion 52of the frame means 38 by suitable bearing structures which are wellknown. With the arrangement which has been just described, it can beseen that a rotation of the drive shaft means 40 about its own axiscauses the lower end of support rod 26 of the chamber means 20 to orbitabout the axis of the drive shaft means 40. Thus, the chamber meansitself is orbited about the position of the drive shaft means 40.However, this orbiting movement is accomplished without a rotation ofthe chamber means 20 within its own vertical axis (as defined by theposition of the support rod 26) since the flexible coupling 34 preventssuch rotation. As a result, the chamber means 20 is mounted and orbitedin a tilted orientation which follows a cone-shaped path about the axisof rotation of the drive shaft means 40. The angle of the cone can beadjusted by moving the support arms 28 outwardly or inwardly relative tothe drive shaft means 40 and by locking the support arms in adjustedpositions. In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom of the pan isapproximately 11 inches down from the point of connection between theflexible coupling means 34 and the upper end of support rod 26.

A further feature of the apparatus provides for a center sleeve 54within the chamber 20, and the sleeve 54 may comprise a rubber sleevefitted around the rod 26 so as to provide a center column within thechamber which forces an egg within the chamber to move more quickly intoa centrifugal orbit. Also, it has been found that the use of a centercolumn 54 permits a wider range of egg sizes to be peeled with a givenadjustment of the apparatus.

To peel an egg in the apparatus, an egg is loaded into the chamber 20when the chamber is in the generally upright position shown in FIGS. 1and 2. Then, the drive shaft means 40 is rotated at a speed which isdetermined, in part, by the size and quality of the eggs being peeled.The angular tilt of the chamber (which can be defined as the amount ofangular displacement of the inner surface of side wall 22 away from avertical axis) is set by adjusting the support arms 28 prior to apeeling operation. Preferably, the angular tilt is about 5 when thechamber is viewed in the FIG. 2 orientation. Rotation of the drive shaftmeans 40 causes the chamber to orbit rapidly about the axis of the driveshaft means 48, and this subjects the egg to rapid rolling movementswhich change direction an infinite num ber of times during a peelingcycle. In addition, centrifugal and downwardly directed forces (rangingfrom about 2 to 7 pounds) are applied to the egg while it is movingabout within the orbiting chamber 20, and the outside surfaces of theegg are rapidly flexed back and forth during the orbiting cycle. Thisflexing action takes place so rapidly that the bond between the shellmembrane 14 and the cooked egg white is quickly broken and the shell ismechanically separated from the cooked egg. This peeling action takesplace in a very short time, for example as short a time as 3 seconds.

When the peeling cycle is completed, the entire frame 38 is pivotedabout an axis defined by mounting shafts 56 which carry the frame 38.The axes of the mounting shafts 56 are aligned with the input shaft ofthe transmission 48 so that there will be no disruption in the drivetrain during tilting of the frame 38. This pivoting movement can beeffected manually or me chanically with a driven arrangement which tiltsthe entire frame 38 at the end of each peeling cycle. The purpose intilting the frame 38 (see arrow in FIG. 2) is to carry the chamber means20 mounted therein to a generally horizontal position in which thepeeled egg and its shell can be discharged from the peeling chamber. Awater injector 58 is mounted to the frame and directed towards the opentop of the chamber means 20 so that water can be squirted into thechamber when it is moved downwardly to a discharging position. Thiswashes out the chamber and removes the egg shell from the chamber alongwith a discharge of the cooked egg. A rack may be provided to receivethe eggs and shells removed from the peeling apparatus, and the rack isdesigned so that eggs will roll over the rack to a collection pointwhile the cracked and broken shells will pass through the rack to aseparate collection point. After discharging the egg and shell from thechamber means 20, the frame 38 is brought back to the upright positionshown in FIG. 5 for a subsequent peeling operation.

Although the peeling apparatus has been described with reference to aspecific form of apparatus, it can be appreciated that eggs can berapidly peeled with equivalent structures which produce the same forcesand accomplish the same results. Generally, it is desirable to providemeans for applying forces randomly to the surface of an egg, duringrapid relative movements of the egg, so as to flex all surfaces of theegg and to produce numerous cracks and fractures in the shell.Equivalent structures can be designed from a study of some of the forcesinvolved in the type of apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as discussedbelow. Such equivalent structures include other forms of chambers andother means for rapidly flexing the shell of a cooked egg. For example,means in the form of rollers may be used for pinching and flexing theshell so as to cause a separation of the shell from the cooked eggwhite.

As the chamber orbits, as described above, a certain and constantlychanging point on the circumferential wall of the chamber is the pointfarthest away from the axis of rotation. The egg in the chamber is indynamic equilibrium only when it is as near this point as it can get.Since the theoretical point is constantly moving relative to the chamber(repeating once each revolution) the egg must keep moving in its attemptto get near that point. .Since the chamber is tilted the egg isconstantly pushed against both the sidewall and the bottom of thechamber by centrifugal force and is squeezed into a continuous cornerformed by their intersection. In addition, due to the roughened interiorsurface of the chamber and the non-spherical shape of the egg, the eggrolls in a bumpy sort of way around the periphery of the cylindricalwall of the chamber while being squeezed and pinched into the continuouscorner.

The following parameters on the apparatus are adjustable:

1. The speed of orbiting" about the axis of rotation in RPM N.

2. The number of orbits made about the axis of rotation per peelingcycle n.

3. The distance of the center of gravity of the egg from the axis ofrotation r.

4. The weight of the egg W.

5. The amount of tilt of the cylindrical chamber from the vertical 4).

These combine to yield:

The force of the egg against the sidewall of the chamber F The force ofthe egg against the bottom of the chamber F Empirically it has beendetermined that a proper combination of variables can be achieved topeel a sufficient number of any size (medium for example) eggs to makethe process economically attractive. Therefore there must be some F andF which is great enough to loosen the shell and membranes from the whitewithout disturbing the yolk. It has also been shown that if the yolk islocated too near the edge of the white, it can be separated from thewhite by a force which is lower than that required to separate the shelland membranes from the white. Therefore, it is important in mechanicalpeeling to observe the method discussed above for 10- cating the yolknear the center of the white.

The variable n does not directly affect the magnitude of F and F Ifthese forces are optimized by the adjustment of other variables, it hasbeen found that 10 to 20 orbits per peeling cycle are sufficient. If F;and F are low, a considerably greater number of orbits is required forpeeling. Considering the details of the apparatus used, the quality ofthe eggs generally available, and the most economic time cycle underthese conditions, it has been determined that a preferred range of 10 to20 orbits is preferred.

With respect to the tilt angle 1: of the cylindrical chamber, it hasbeen found that angles between 10 and 17 work approximately equallywell. On the other hand, a tilt angle of does not work well at all.Apparently the importance of the exact angle is not great as long as theinner sidewall of the chamber is not nearer to the vertical than toLooking at the dynamics of the operation, the acceleration (normal tothe axis of rotation) required to maintain the velocity of eggs in acircular path is:

a V /r where V velocity of an egg.

F Ma (Newtons Law) when M mass of egg.

F MV /r when F centrifugal force normal to axis of rotation.

M W/g where g on earth 32.2 feet/sec./sec.

The velocity of the eggs center of gravity must be the circumference ofthe circle it generates as it moves, times the number of circlesgenerated per unit time (seconds is a convenient unit here) or:

substituting again F W/g(21rrN/60)/r.

Now, inserting the constants to get W to ounces, r to inches, and F topounds:

F (1.773 X 10*)WrN where F is normal to the axis of rotation.

Accounting now for the effect of the tilt angle F =FCosand F =FSin (bThe following settings were empirically determined for medium eggs(weight 1.75 to 2.0 ounces):

W 2.0, N 570 RPM, r 3.5 inches F 1.773 X l0)(2.0)(3.5)(570) 4.03 lbs. Ata tilt angle of (I) 15 F =4.03 (.97) 3.91 lbs. F =4.03 (.26) 1.05 lbs.Neglecting the fact that small eggs have thicker shells than large eggs,we can determine an r for each weight size of eggs so that F will be thesame for any size egg. In actual practice, the F used for small eggswill be larger than for large eggs. The range of egg sizes that can bepeeled at one adjustment setting of the peeling apparatus will depend onthe tolerance to F built into the cooked egg through egg quality,cooking, cooling, etc. The range of usable forces (F) seems to be fromabout 2 lbs. to 7 lbs.

It can be seen therefore that the application of a certain range offorces in a certain way is what peels the egg. This specificationdescribes one type of apparatus for creating these forces, but otherways will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is: 1. Apparatus for peeling hardcooked eggs comprismg:

a generally cylindrical chamber for receiving eggs to be peeled, saidchamber having a central axis, and

means for orbiting said chamber about an axis other than said centralaxis so that an egg within the chamber is subjected to rapid rotationalmovement against the chamber walls and to a corner squeezing and/orpinching action to release the membrane and the shell from the eggwhite, thereby peeling the eggs.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 wherein the central axis of said chamberdescribes a conical surface during the orbital movement of the chamber.

3. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said chamber is subject to the orbitalmovement without rotating the chamber about its axis.

4. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said chamber has a substantially opentop and is mounted in a frame which can be tilted to discharge a peeledegg therefrom at the end of a peeling cycle.

5. Apparatus for peeling hard cooked eggs comprising a generallycylindrical chamber for receiving eggs to be peeled, said chamber havinga central axis, and means for orbiting said chamber about an orbitalmovement axis without rotation of said chamber about its central axis,said chamber having its central axis disposed at an angle to the orbitalmovement axis, so that an egg within the chamber is subjected to rapidrotational movement against the chamber walls and to a comer squeezingand/or pinching action to release the membrane and the shell from theegg white, thereby peeling the eggs.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said orbital movement axisis a generally vertical axis.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 and including an injecting means forinjecting a liquid into the chamber at the end of a peeling cycle forwashing out egg shell from the chamber.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said chamber is mounted so that itsclosed bottom is oriented on a tilt during orbiting movements so that anegg within the 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said inner sidechamber is continually moved within the chamber wall is tilted about 5away f a vertical axis towards an uppermost corner of the chamberdefined 11 Th m f l by an inner side wall and the bottom of the chamber.h i c 8 an egg wnhm 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said chamber ist e or mng c am er Jecte to owes much are tilted so that its inner sidewall is tilted or angled away within a range of about 2 to 7 P from thevertical by at least 5- to I V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATEOF CORRECTION Patent No. ,774, 25 Dated Nov m r 27, 1973 Inventor(s)Leslie W. Driggs It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Asignment informatioh has been omitted from this patent. It should bereflected as Nutrionics Machine Corporation column 1, line 1M, "it"should be "its";

Column l', line t? "FIGS. l and 5" should e "FIGS. 1 ande Y golumn g,line 36, "FIG. 5" should be Signed and sealed this 14th day or June19714..

(SEAL) Attest: I v I EDWARD M.FLETCHER',JR. C. MARSHALL DANN AttestingOfficer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (IO-6Q)

1. Apparatus for peeling hardcooked eggs comprising: a generallycylindrical chamber for receiving eggs to be peeled, said chamber havinga central axis, and means for orbiting said chamber about an axis otherthan said central axis so that an egg within the chamber is subjected torapid rotational movement against the chamber walls and to a cornersqueezing and/or pinching action to release the membrane and the shellfrom the egg white, thereby peeling the eggs.
 2. Apparatus of claim 1wherein the central axis of said chamber describes a conical surfaceduring the orbital movement of the chamber.
 3. Apparatus of claim 2wherein said chamber is subject to the orbital movement without rotatingthe chamber about its axis.
 4. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said chamberhas a substantially open top and is mounted in a frame which can betilted to discharge a peeled egg therefrom at the end of a peelingcycle.
 5. Apparatus for peeling hard cooked eggs comprising a generallycylindrical chamber for receiving eggs to be peeled, said chamber havinga central axis, and means for orbiting said chamber about an orbitalmovement axis without rotation of said chamber about its central axis,said chamber having its central axis disposed at an angle to the orbitalmovement axis, so that an egg within the chamber is subjected to rapidrotational movement against the chamber walls and to a corner squeezingand/or pinching action to release the membrane and the shell from theegg white, thereby peeling the eggs.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein said orbital movement axis is a generally vertical axis.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 3 and including an injecting means for injecting aliquid into the chamber at the end of a peeling cycle for washing outegg shell from the chamber.
 8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein saidchamber is mounted so that its closed bottom is oriented on a tiltduring orbiting movements so that an egg within the chamber iscontinually moved within the chamber towards an uppermost corner of thechamber defined by an inner side wall and the bottom of the chamber. 9.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said chamber is tilted so that itsinner side wall is tilted or angled away from the vertical by at least5* to 10*.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said inner side wall istilted about 15* away from a vertical axis.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8wherein an egg within the orbiting chamber is subjected to forces whichare within a range of about 2 to 7 pounds.